Person Holding a Black Digital Tablet, representing Fake News on Stocks

SEC Fines Company for Severance Agreements Waiving Rewards

Another publicly traded company has been reprimanded by the Securities and Exchange Commission for attempting to thwart its whistleblower program. This time it is BlueLinx Holdings, Inc., a building products distributor which trades on the New York Stock Exchange with a market capitalization of approximately $84 million, which ran afoul of SEC Rule 21F-17. SEC...

A Papers with Coins and Mobile Phone on the Side, representing whistleblower contracts

Tax Court Says IRS Whistleblowers Get Rewards on Criminal Fines

Criminal fines and civil forfeitures are collected proceeds under Internal Revenue Code section 7623(b), the mandatory tax whistleblower program, according to a recent decision by the U.S. Tax Court. The opinion paved the way for an award of $17.8 million to a pair of whistleblowers. In the rules for the IRS whistleblower program, the tax agency...

Close-up Photo of Monitor, representing Ontario Securities

Bribery News: Embraer Moves Toward Settlement; Rolls Royce Investigation Expands

Summer may be a slow time on the stock market but we’re getting a steady stream of bribery news with just two months left in the government’s fiscal year. On the FCPA front: Embraer announced that it has reserved $200 million for a settlement under the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Internationally: Germany and the U.K....

Courthouse with columns, representing Department of Justice (DOJ) and SEC Enforcement

State Street to Pay Gov’t $382 Million Over Hidden FX Markups

Hidden costs imposed by banks on trading clients are at issue again today with the Securities and Exchange Commission announcing a $382.4 million settlement with State Street over misleading mutual funds and other custody account clients. A custody bank holds assets and securities for safekeeping. This includes stocks, bonds and commodities. As part of these...

Tuomey Doesn’t Justify Stark Law Revisions

I spent some time yesterday reviewing the testimony before the Senate Finance Committee a few weeks ago by health care providers and other organizations regarding the need for revisions to the Stark Law. The general substance of the Stark Law is probably familiar to most people in the health care industry but likely not to those...

Close up of gavel on desk, representing justice by Young Law Group as well as corporate whistleblowing

LATAM Pays $22 Million under FCPA

The largest airline in Latin America, Chile-based LATAM Airlines Group, has agreed to pay $22 million to resolve investigations by the Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) concerning bribery of foreign officials. LATAM is listed on the New York Stock Exchange, which is how it falls under U.S. jurisdiction for the...

Dollar banknote on white table, representing whistleblower amendments, insider trading, and whistleblower awards.

CFTC Issues Fourth Whistleblower Bounty of $50,000

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission has issued its third award in the last year and fourth overall to CFTC whistleblowers pursuant to the terms of the Dodd-Frank Act. The decision was approved last week and the press release issued by the commodities regulator today. The whistleblower’s name, the percentage of the penalty, and the...

Close up of Court, representing Expanded Whistleblower Program

SEC Boosts AML BSA Enforcement with SARs Action

A piece of news about Vincente Martinez leaving the SEC alerted us to the first SEC enforcement action of the Bank Secrecy Act against a broker-dealer solely for failing to file suspicious activity reports (SARs) on time. Martinez was the original Director of the CFTC Whistleblower Office before returning to the SEC in 2013....

Assortment of pills in news article at Young Law Group website. Also representing REMS

Increased Spending in Compounded Drugs Could Involve Fraud

Federal spending for compounded drugs has exploded recently and there are concerns some portion of the increase is due to fraud or overbilling, according to recent media reports. Last year, we wrote a post about the increase in Tricare fraud among compounding pharmacies. Recent data reports suggests other programs, including Medicare Part D and federal...

Crop anonymous patriot showing flag of United Stated of America

Ethics Code Now Guides Accountant Whistleblowers

The International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants (IESBA) has revised the Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants to address ethical concerns about how to handle a client’s suspected non-compliance with laws and regulations (frequently referred to as “NOCLAR”). The changes to permit whistleblowing in the Ethics Code, which serve as guidance for professional accountants around...

Category: News